25 Days of Ninjamas!
by A Damsel In Distress
Summary: One story a day for 25 days until Christmas arrives! Filled with adventures, brotherly fluff, and Christmas spirit, what could go wrong! Chapter 5: "Then realization hit Raph like a slap to the face as he and his brothers quickly glanced down at his T-phone that was ringing at top volume. 'You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch. You really are a heeee eeel.'"
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaim: I do not in any shape, way, or form own the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.**

* * *

Mikey stared through the frosty living room window panels out into the vacant parking lot, or what should have been a parking lot but was covered entirely by snow that made the lot seem as if it never existed at all.

He stood there, mouth hanging open slightly, with eyes so dilated that you could barely make out his baby blue coloring on the rims of his irises. With every passing second, his muscles tensed at the sight before him. It was almost as if the cold outside was mocking him through the window, seeping through the cracks at the sides to invade his body and freeze anything it touched; veins, muscles, blood, etc.

 _There's no way…_ Mikey shakily thought to himself. He clenched his hands into fists, ready to bolt, fight, block, whatever that was needed to be done to protect himself if need be.

The day started out way too good anyways. Of course karma came knocking on Mikey's door or window in this case to ruin it all. Today had been the youngest brother's last day of school before winter break started. He kicked ass in his final exam and was let out of school by noon. He had a "Mikey Special," a sandwich that was named after him when the owner of the shop made the mistake of letting him create his own sandwich. He ate it there and left for home to prepare a good night's dinner for his brothers, knowing they'd be home later. Mikey came home and immediately made a beeline for the blinds blocking the glorious view of a winter wonderland just outside his small apartment complex which now he realized he should have just kept shut. With superglue. And maybe have added some boards for extra protection. It was the second time he looked out the window though that had him reeling in suspicious thoughts. Shadows of his building had casted over the lot and the kids he saw playing earlier outside where nowhere to be found. He just figured it was because of the dropping temperature and not _what they created._

It was nearing six now, he'd been staring out the window for an hour without moving a single muscle. He couldn't risk it, not now. Not until his brothers came home and at least took his spot. _Maybe we can divide into four shifts…_ Mikey trailed off in thought.

The winter wonderland outside had easily became a full force blizzard now, and Mikey could barely make out the figure through the snow storm.

He dared himself to take a couple of steps closer and kept his stare on the bulky snow piles, squinting in the process in order to focus better. He forced his clammy fingers to slide the window open a bit as it started to fog up from the heat of his apartment. He gripped the ledge and leaned forward, almost mesmerized by the scene in front of him. It was almost as if this figure was calling to him.

 _THERE! IT MOVED!_ Mikey thought with a gasp. _This time for sure! There's no freaking way I'm imagining it! The guys will never believe this!_

The figure outside moved closer towards the complex, Mikey swore. With a twisted buttoned smile and beady eyes that almost shone in reflection to the lot's lights; it glared ferociously.

Mikey flinched at the sight, forgetting to breathe as the wind continuously hit him in the face to the point where he felt numb to the core of his now probably iced over heart. His cheeks weren't even flushed from the cold atmosphere that was intruding on his heated apartment.

 _It's probably his doing…_ Mikey gulped, as he thought for a second as to why he couldn't get his limbs to function with the commands of his brain. To move and step back and to slam the window shut, pull the blinds down and lock up the door in every way possible to protect himself.

 _DO SOMETHING!_ His brain shouted at him, but Mikey still could not tear his gaze away. He was sure that the figure had managed to hold him captive even in the bearings of his own home through a simple but wicked smile.

Still lost in trance, Mikey failed to acknowledge the presence of his oldest brother walk through the door behind him.

"…was getting a few groceries for the weekend. I thought we could-Mikey?" Leo asked as he pondered why his brother hadn't said anything back to him let alone turn around. _What is he doing?_

Leo tried to look past his younger brother out the window but failed to see what captured Mikey's attention. Leo frowned, putting his groceries on the floor of the kitchen before walking over to his still struck brother.

Hesitantly, the eldest put his hand on Mikey's shoulder. He didn't expect the reaction he received.

Mikey jumped two feet straight into the air and stumbled when landing, causing himself to hit the window with his back before the force of it sent him to the floor. He whipped his head up to look at whoever scared the crap out of him, breathing heavily before realizing it was just Leo.

"Geez, Leo! Warn a brother first!" Mikey yelled out in frustration as he figuratively tried to collect his nerves that surely spilled out onto the floor with him.

Leo on the other hand continued to frown as he bent down to Mikey's eye level and asked him, "What's wrong Mikey?"

The eldest not so noticeably scanned his brother for some kind of hidden injuries until Mikey figured out what he was doing and put a hand up to stop him.

"It's…it's not like that Leo," he shakily let out.

Leo felt the beginnings of fear grip his heart as he observed the form of his youngest brother; pale and shaking slightly. Leo knew what that meant. He was scared. _Of what though?_

The eldest took one look around the room and couldn't find anything out of the ordinary. He couldn't sense anyone else in their place like a thief either _. But, Mikey had been looking outside…_

Leo's eyes drifted up to the opened window making mental note to remind his brother later to not let the heat out as this was the time of the year that the gas bill tripled.

"Leo," Mikey started, drawing his big brother's attention back to him. "You're never going to believe what's out there."

If Leo's frown could have deepened any further it might have hit the ground he was still kneeling on. His brother looked at him wide eyed, panting for the breath he'd lost moments ago.

"What is it Mikey?" Leo sternly asked, shifting into defensive mode.

"C'mere! Look!" Mikey yelled out, scrambling to get back up to his feet, pulling Leo up with him and over to the opened window. He shifted over to the closed part of the window so that his brother could get a better look at to what he was pointing at.

"You see that?!"

Leo continued to peer into the dark as the night had finally fallen upon them. He searched left to right, right to left, up and down then vise versa a few times before looking back at Mikey whose finger was smashed up against the glass.

"Mikey, I don't see anything," he said in a calm, patient matter.

"It's right there! Look!" Mikey said, still not taking his eyes away from the figure.

Leo looked again but couldn't for his life see what Mikey was talking about.

"There's nothing out there but the lot and a snowman."

"YES! EXACTLY! Just keep watching it! You'll see what I mean!"

The snowman? Why would his brother make him stare at a snowman for so long? Was it another prank? It didn't look like one judging by the way Mikey was behaving. He still seemed absolutely terrified and panicky. Leo did as his brother instructed though and stared through the storm at the snowman for what it seemed like several minutes.

"Mikey, would you please tell me what's going on?" Leo started, leaning back away from the window to look at his brother's trembling form. "You're starting to worry me. Is somebody out there or something?"

Mikey scrunched up his face in frustration as he ignored his brother for a moment to figure out why the figure stopped moving. Didn't he want to show off his creepy vibes and talent to his older brother? He sure looked cocky enough to do so.

 _What the?!_

"It's not moving anymore."

"What isn't? Mikey, you better start telling me what's going on right now," Leo lectured, crossing his arms over his chest, his crystal colored eyes staring pointedly into Mikey's baby blues to get him to start talking.

Mikey looked through the window again and still saw no movement. He looked back to his awaiting and distressed brother before re-pointing his figure out to the snowman that sat there lifelessly.

"I swear on my life that it _moves_."

Leo blinked.

"What?"

"It moves Leo! That snowman out there moves every time I lose my focus on it or look somewhere else!" Mikey frantically yelled out trying to get his brother who looked at him like he was psycho, _Rude,_ to believe him. Mikey knew it was a ridiculous thing to claim, but, "I swear on my life, Leo, that snowman out there moves closer and closer every time! Not only that, but he's been glaring at me with this creepy twisted satanic smile! I-it's like he's challenging me to go out there and face him and all of a sudden I just can't move and he's still just patronizing me as I just stand here and do nothing- I couldn't even get myself to just close the blinds Leo! There's something seriously wrong here!"

Mikey finished while panting, clenching his hands into fists again, and staring desperately into his brother's concerned gaze, willing and pleading Leo to believe him. He knew it sounded absolutely out of this world crazy but it was true! Leo had to believe! Had to believe him and do something about it because that's what big brothers are for and Mikey really needed his brother to help him take care of this problem! It was already going to give him nightmares for crying out loud!

Leo, on the other hand, didn't know what to say. Or more like couldn't comprehend what his brother had just told him in that rush of words.

He opened his mouth to talk and then shut it again when no words came out. Mikey truly looked like he'd seen a ghost.

Leo decided to at least humor his baby brother and look back out to the snowman. Good thing Raph wasn't there or Mikey would never hear the end of it. He still didn't see the snowman move.

Mikey looked hopeful too as Leo looked back once more.

"So…let me get this straight."

Mikey nodded as a way to tell his brother to continue on.

"You're telling me…you've found what? The abominable snowman?" Leo asked, uncertainly, skepticism bleeding into his words.

Mikey cringed at the thought of how stupid that sounded but nodded slowly nonetheless.

"Yeah, pretty much! I'm telling you that's exactly what's out there!"

"Mikey…" Leo started but stopped at the sight of his youngest brother's shoulders slumping in disappointment, his baby blue eyes finding a spot at the ground to stare at instead.

"We'll get rid of it first thing tomorrow morning. Whoever built it will probably figure the storm blew it away or something anyways, okay?" Leo asked with a smile that melted Mikey's heart with pure brotherly compassion and warmth.

It was okay if Leo didn't really believe him. But Leo believed him enough for it to be a problem and he was really thankful for that.

"Thank you Leo." Mikey crushed his brother into a huge hug which Leo naturally returned, running his fingers through Mikey's tousled blonde hair.

Leo reached over to close the window and shut the blinds.

"Now, how about I help you with dinner? Don and Raph will be here soon." Leo suggested, knowing it would be a good way to distract the youngest from what was going on.

 _The shadows are probably just playing tricks on him,_ Leo concluded.

"Y-Yeah, sounds good. Oh and Leo?" Mikey asked, leaning away from the hug to look up at his brother.

But Leo already knew what he was going to ask because apparently he gained some kind of psychic powers within the last few minutes and said, "I won't say a word. I promise."

Mikey felt better already knowing his oldest brother would always protect him in more ways than one and no matter how ridiculous the situation was.

* * *

Later that night Leo went to shut the blinds in his own room after flipping the light switch off.

He looked once more across the lot to peer at the abominable snowman his little brother was so concerned about.

He let out a small shaky breath as the exact snowman now appeared right below his window with the sickening gut wrenching smile Mikey mentioned earlier.

Leo glared at it for a moment after regaining his composure and continued to shut the blinds. He then pulled on his snow jacket and twin katana blades as he set out to destroy the thing.

Better safe than sorry anyways.

 _End._

* * *

 **Hey all! I have decided to write a story everyday for 25 days until Christmas! This is for your entertainment and to help better my writing skills! Most stories will probably be Mikey centric but definitely not all of them! There will be no slash, only brother heart to heart fluff and other adventures. Some will continue to be human AU and most of the others will continue in turtle form!**

 **At first I was going to get one of those advent calendars, you know where you get to eat a piece of chocolate each day before Christmas arrives? Well I went to three stores and no one had any! I was going to write drabbles and stories based on those pieces of chocolate but I had to improvise!**

 **Therefore I asked my roommate what the first thing came to mind was when I said Christmas and she said "Abominable Snowman," haha! and now there you have it! I hope you have all enjoyed reading the story and I encourage you to review as it also helps me as a writer know what you thought! I will be posting again tomorrow but in the meantime have a great day!**

 **P.S. I know I skipped December 1st so I will be adding two chapters in one day (probably on Saturday) to make up for it.**


	2. Chapter 2

Mikey sat there in silence as Donnie worked on the last of the 26th stitch in his calf. His brothers could barely look him in the eye after his run in with the Foot. He knew they were worried but that wasn't the problem. They were beyond other ways to describe the word pissed. Donnie at least contained his anger better as he stitched Mikey up, being distracted surely helped. On the other hand, one look at Leo and Raph sent cold chills down his shell.

Donnie, noticing his shivering brother, gently asked, "Mikey, are you doing okay?"

The youngest responded with a single solemn nod, staring at the floor with a blank stare. He didn't feel any pain, Don made sure to that. The family doctor also told him he'd be out of commission for awhile until the stitches came out but he barely registered Don's words as he sat there consumed in his own thoughts.

 _What if Raph and Leo try to do something stupid?_ Mikey asked himself. His two brothers were notorious for getting revenge where as Donnie and Mikey liked the idea of walking away and not causing any other problems.

"Leo, can you go grab the extra gauze pads in the garage? They're in the medical bag on the shelf that's under Raph's tool box," Don said, without taking his eyes off Mikey's injury. Leo hesitantly left.

 _Maybe I should try talking to Raph…_ Mikey tried to think of ways to stop his brothers from interrogating and killing any of the Foot that took part in tonight's incident. He was sure they'd have the job done by now if they had been with Mikey on his Friday night routine to pick up some groceries. Although none of them had any encounters with the Foot in the past month, so Mikey thought it would just be another causal Friday night run.

Was he ever wrong. Ten soldiers showed up on one of the rooftops to apparently what Mikey thought at the time was to steal his groceries. They had been missing for a month and probably locked up for the time being under Shredder's command. _No wonder, I'd be hungry too,_ Mikey reminisced to his earlier encounter getting sidetracked from his current problem.

He recalled when one of the foot soldiers got the lucky shot to his leg with a single katana blade. It was a cheap move, considering there were ten of them and one of him and Mikey had to defend his precious face from looking like Freddie boy. The blade nearly ripped his leg in half but he was able to knock out the guy before it traveled up past his knee. The cut was long and deep enough for stitches but the blade never hit his bone luckily, if Mikey could even call himself that to begin with.

He considered calling his brothers for help but before he knew it, sirens were blaring down below the building he was standing on. Someone, he figured must have heard the commotion and called the cops. So yeah, Mikey would call himself lucky for that. All ninjas had to…well make like a ninja and disappear. It wasn't easy but Mikey managed to use his mask as a temporary bandage to hold his skin together before he lost too much blood. As a turtle do and did, the youngest managed to limp back to the lair-with his groceries. He picked up some baking supplies, thinking he could bake some cookies for his big brothers for the holiday season. He'd probably have to do it tomorrow-or the next day-or maybe the day after that. He didn't think his brothers would let him stroll around the lair freely for awhile.

Coming back to the present, Mikey blinked a few times before slowing turning to look at his temperamental brother whose arms were tightly crossed against his plastron, glaring holes into Mikey's calf.

The youngest turtle tried to muster all the courage he could before croaking out his older brother's name.

"R-Raph?"

Raph was quick to pierce Mikey with his brightly flared green eyes.

 _Oh man._ Mikey knew that look. That look told him nothing was going to change his brother's mind. But he had to try. He didn't want Leo and Raph going out and risking their lives to gain a little revenge on some rookie Foot ninja. He wanted his brothers to let this go just for once and stay in, watch some movies or something. The holidays were coming up and he really didn't want Leo and Raph to get into any extra trouble. He just wanted this year's Christmas to be pain free; after his injury heals of course. Who knows, if the Foot are back, what would happen to his brothers if they went out tonight. The Foot has probably caught on that Leo and Raph always tended to take revenge on them the same night one of theirs was attacked, so maybe it was all a deliberate trap or something.

He had to try again.

"Raph, listen. Leo, you too," the youngest turtle said as Leo returned from the garage with a bundle of gauze pads that Don asked for. Leo also gave him a daring look.

"I-I'd really like," Mikey paused to keep his voice from quivering, "…if you guys didn't hunt down the Foot this time."

All three brothers stared, or more like glared, at him even though he thought it was a simple enough request but apparently not. He knew it wasn't personal and that his brothers weren't actually mad at him but they could ease up on the pissy-ness.

" _Please._ "

Mikey usually only used the word please when he was messing around and wanted to annoy his brothers. This time, he begged with desperation in that simple word. He could see Leo and Raph's shield start to crack. With Donnie he didn't have to worry; Don was a lover not a fighter. Unless the time came and he was needed.

They were still all staring at him like he grew a second head and Mikey had half the mind to look over his shoulder to make sure he hadn't. _No, focus Mikey._

" _Please,_ " he begged again.

This time Raph let out a frustrated growling sigh, dropped his arms and glare before mumbling out a, "Fine," and walked out to the living room. Probably to blow off some steam in the dojo.

Leo came up and put a hand on Mikey's shoulder.

"Okay, Mikey. I promise," he said with a gentle smile that in no way reached his eyes. The tension in the room didn't let up either. Leo's promises were golden though. _At least, they usually were…_

"Leo, I'm trusting you. Don't do anything stupid and make sure Raph doesn't either."

"Mikey, if that's what you want, you have my word." Leo wanted nothing less than to ease his youngest brother's worry. Mikey had already been through so much tonight, the least he could do was do what Mikey requested of him.

"I'll go see what he's up to right now."

"Thanks bro," Mikey huffed out, relieved. Leo patted his head gently a few times before leaving for the exit.

"Call me if any of you two need something," he said before leaving to find Raph.

"Will do," Don responded before turning back to the injured turtle. "Why don't you rest Mikey, I'll wake up in a bit for dinner."

And with that Mikey fell into a restless sleep.

* * *

A couple hours later Don came rushing in to wake his slumbering brother but realized he didn't have to as Mikey was sitting up on the cot already.

"Mikey…" Don started as his brother rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

Mikey turned to him and realized Don looked all pale and clammy like. What had happened? Leo had promised he wouldn't go running off with Raph! What the _shell_ had happened?!

"Don't tell me…"

"No, it's worse."

What could be worse than his brothers running off to be potentially killed by the Foot? Did they go after the Shredder instead? Were they captured and being tortured for information? Did they play Mikey's new videogame without him? _Wait no- what am I thinking._

"Donnie, what happened?! Where's Leo and Raph? Are they hurt?" Mikey kept firing question after question as Don just stood there with wide terrified eyes, breathing somewhat heavily.

"No, no, Mikey it's not like that…they're both fine. It's…" Don trailed off again, looking back out towards the hallway before back to his brother again.

 _Dammit Don, spit it out already,_ Mikey thought, clenching his fists in anticipation. If they were both fine then what the hell was Don so scared about?

"Is it Master Splinter?"

"No, Mikey. Everyone's okay…it's just that-well you see-"

"I smell smoke," Mikey interrupting, sniffing the air slightly. "What is going on Don, tell me right now."

"They…they wanted to do something nice for you," Don paused cringing at the thought of something, "…but you know how they are in the kitchen."

With that last sentence Mikey was scrambling to get his feet on the floor before Don realized what he was doing. Knowing he couldn't stop Mikey from getting to his most prized possession in the lair, Don helped him up and gave him crutches to help him transport.

Mikey got to the living room with his brother right on his heels before stopping dead in his tracks. He could see Leo and Raph through the kitchen entrance frantically moving around to throw some pans in the sink, splashing water on them as fast as they could. Raph was using Raph words as he took a plate and tried to fan out one of Donnie's smoke detectors.

"Like I said…they were trying to do something nice for you."

Mikey continued to stay silent as he stood there in horror.

When he found his voice he whispered, "What were they trying to do?"

"Bake you cookies."

As horrified Mikey was at his kitchen being destroyed in the on going process, he couldn't ignore the warmth spreading among inside his chest at the thought of Leo and Raph working together and doing something they were awful at just to cheer him up.

His frown was replaced with a full blown smile as he turned to Donnie- who still looked petrified- and said, "I love you guys."

Don was taken aback for a moment, surprised at his younger brother's response before returning the smile with his own.

"We love you too."

And together they watched their two brothers continue in their destruction of baking cookies.

 _End._

* * *

 **The next words I used from my roommate were, "Baking Cookies," and this is what I came up with! I hope you all enjoyed!**

 **-A Damsel in Distress**


	3. Chapter 3

Mikey had everything planned out perfectly. From getting all the right supplies, to waking up early, to creating his master piece of a prank on his most temperamental brother. Everything had gone smoothly too; except one thing.

Raph hadn't even acknowledged his work at all.

Mikey spent hours upon hours in the wee morning of the day working on his project and had lots to show for it too. He saw that Leo and Don had certainly acknowledged his piece of art with raised eyebrows and quivering smiles that forced their laughter back down their throats but Raph on the other hand went onto his day like usual.

He didn't start screaming his youngest brother's name like Mikey had anticipated nor did he start grumbling off threats around the lair.

No, Raphael seemed to be actually in a good mood, all things considered. There was no way he'd missed Mikey's artwork, it was literally laid out in front of him when he woke up. In fact it followed Raph everywhere he went, how could he not notice it? There was a trail left behind from pieces that were falling off and Raph paid no attention at all.

Leo and Donnie had been good sports in this and had kept their mouths shut besides the small chuckle that escaped here and there. Raph didn't pay any attention to them either though.

 _Was Raph blind?_ Mikey asked himself as he stared at his hotheaded brother while he watched one of the twelve televisions in the living room. _Well obviously he can't be blind if he's watching wrestling._ Mikey continued to ponder in thought, scratching he's head here and there and sighing multiple times until Raph spoke to him.

"What's got you all worked up?"

Mikey scrunched his face up in confusion. How dare Raph have the audacity to ask such a question? _He_ should be the one that was all riled up. _He_ should be the one who was flipping over couches and tables until Leo put a stop to his madness.

"N-Nothing," Mikey said unsure. Raph then had the nerve to give him a look like he was the crazy one before Leo came in announcing that it was time for Mikey and him to go grab dinner.

As the youngest turtle got up to leave, he gave Raph a questioning look as he walked in front of him to get to the exit.

"What squirt? Do I got somethin' on my face or what?"

 _YES! YES YOU DO!_ Mikey mentally screamed in his head.

"You know you're sitting in a pile of gumdrops right?" Mikey hinted.

Raph looked utterly surprised as he saw of few of the candy pieces on the floor as well as some littering the couch he had occupied.

"Oh? Nice!" Raph yelled out enthusiastically before picking up one of the gumdrops to examine before plopping in his mouth before leaning back casually to watch his show again.

The nun-chuck wielder had wanted to scream out, _not the gumdrop buttons!_ like they did in Shrek but refrained in annoyance to Raph's lack of attention to his prank.

Mikey let out a frustrated sigh again as he walked over to Leo. His eldest brother, seeing his frustrations, smiled gently as he put a sympathetic hand on Mikey's shoulder before turning to lead the way out.

* * *

"Leo what do you mean he might not have noticed?! He's the freaking Gingerbread Man for shell's sake! Covered in frosting, candy, more frosting, and sprinkles! He's been leaving a trail everywhere he goes!"

Indeed the sai wielding turtle had been covered in items that a gingerbread man would have. Mikey made sure to glue the pieces of candy with frosting all over him. His older brother's shell was completely covered with gumdrops side to side, leaving no spaces in between them. Orange sprinkles had covered Raph's plastron as other little candies such as Spree's and Dot's were randomly placed on his arms and legs.

"Which you'll have to clean up eventually," Leo responded.

"Leo!" Mikey looked at his oldest brother as they made their way back from the pizzeria down the street, "That's not the point right now! Something's wrong with Raph. He'd be all over my shell by now for this kind of prank! There's no way he'd let me decorate him like a gingerbread man without some kind of revenge."

"I know, but he seems like he's in a good mood today so maybe he's letting you off easy this time."

"It's Raph, I don't think he even knows what 'good mood' means," Mikey said letting out a chuckle, making Leo laugh alongside him.

"I'm sure he's just letting you have some fun."

"I guess," Mikey said, disbelievingly. There was just no way Raph would let him go like this. Never in his life had his brother been so calm about a prank. Was he planning a prank now? Was that Raph's plan? To get Mikey out of the lair with Leo to plan something with Donnie? Would Donnie really betray him like that? Is Leo really in on it?

Maybe he'd stick to Leo's side for the rest of the night to make sure his brother wasn't a part of Raph's spiteful attacks and he'd get protection at the same time in case his hotheaded brother did decide to do something.

Both brothers entered the lair to find Raph confidently standing in the middle of the lair, in the way of their path to the kitchen with arms folded over his plastron and a shark like grin.

Oh how Mikey hated that look. Both Leo and Mikey looked at him suspiciously, Mikey taking a small unnoticeable step towards his oldest brother.

"Hey _little brother,_ " Raph greeted almost evilly.

Mikey flinched at the tone of his voice.

"Thought it was funny playin' dress up with me did'ja?" Raph question with a twinkle in his bright green eyes.

"K-kinda," Mikey admitted, the ends of his lips curving upwards.

"Yeah I thought you did. But you know what Mikey?"

Mikey dropped his smile faster than he could eat a slice of pizza. Which was pretty damn fast.

"What?" he asked tentatively.

"A gingerbread man needs a gingerbread house. I thought yer' room would do the trick," Raph simply said, his smile widening.

With that Mikey dropped the pizza he was holding, or would have if Leo hadn't calmly caught it, and bolted off towards his room. When he arrived in front of his door he wasted no time in shoving it open. What he saw was like something in a dream.

His walls were plastered in frosting, every kind of candy ever imagined coated every single inch of his walls. His bed was covered in layers of graham cookies and the whole place just looked like the witch's house from Hansel and Gretel.

Mikey's eyes watered with tears as he turned towards his older brother standing behind him.

Leo gasped in surprised as he peeked inside while Raph stood there confident as ever. Raph could see that Mikey was growing frustrated throughout the day in him ignoring his brother's prank and that was worth keeping his anger calm. The other part was that Raph had time to set up his own prank while his youngest brother left with Leo and so everything worked out in the end on his part.

But when Mikey turned, he turned with a beaming smile towards Raph.

"This is the best Christmas present ever! Thanks Raphie!" Mikey exclaimed, going into his room to start eating some candy canes above his light switch.

Raph's face fell, almost to the ground if it could, as he realized what an awful backfire this turned out to be. Leo walked away amused at his brother's idea but disappointed that Mikey had almost an unlimited stash of candy in his room now.

 _Of course_ Mikey would love the idea of his room becoming a gingerbread house, what was Raph _thinking_?

 _End._

* * *

 **Alright today's word was "Gingerbread Man" given to me by my cousin. I hope you all enjoyed the stories so far, I know I am three behind and am planning on catching up by tomorrow night. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed and read the stories so far! I see a request for a sick Mikey so I will do that as well as some more Leo and Mikey stories! Again thank you for reading and have a good day!**

 **-A Damsel in Distress**

 **P.S. Again I do not own the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or Shrek for that matter.**


	4. Chapter 4

It was another snow filled day in New York as flakes fell from the sky and kids filled the sidewalks to play in light of classes being cancelled. Raph and Don left early morning to attend to their own little projects and Leo left a bit later to go shopping for Christmas presents. He invited Mikey to come along but the youngest politely declined.

Leo gave him a questioning look because he knew Mikey absolutely _loved_ Christmas and shopping for his brothers and so such an answer didn't seem right.

He looked his brother over and asked, "Is everything alright?"

Leo started walking towards Mikey but the said brother put his hands up and responded with, "Yeah, totally. I just thought I'd, you know, start making lunch and stuff."

Leo was about to second guess him but when Mikey smiled with his pearly whites and baby blue eyes he stopped himself and sighed.

"Alright," the eldest said almost disappointingly. If Mikey wanted to talk, he would. Leo wasn't going to push his brother into it unless it was serious and it didn't seem like it was for now. He'd check up on him again later though.

"Call me if you need me to pick up anything while I'm out."

"Will do!" With a smile still plastered to his face, Mikey saluted his brother in a solider-like manner as he made an exit.

Something _was_ wrong though. The youngest wasn't feeling all too shabby today.

 _No, more like just_ off, Mikey thought to himself. He didn't feel sick to the stomach, wasn't running a fever, didn't have a cold, but he certainly didn't feel like his bright cheery self this morning either. He wasn't mad or annoyed at anybody and even if he was it never lasted long.

 _So what is it?_ He questioned, looking to the ground for some miraculous answer. He felt just kind of _blah._

When the floor didn't give him answers to why he felt so gloomy he let out a frustrated breath of air. Mikey dragged his feet back to his room to pick up some drawing utensils and paper then headed back to the small scratched up kitchen table.

 _Maybe drawing will help make me feel better._

An hour passed by and as it came close to one, Mikey put his very fine, detailed drawing of his cat Klunk away and made lunch for his brothers whenever they decided to return home. Drawing hadn't help his mood still and neither did the distraction of his favorite hobby; cooking.

Was he bored? No, if he had simply been bored he could have just gone with Leo shopping. Mikey didn't feel like doing anything for a matter of fact now that he got lunch out of the way. For the usually energetic boy, it was disturbing behavior. With nothing else he wanted to do, the youngest sat on the family couch and watched some cartoons mindlessly. During one of the commercials he turned towards the living room window that looked out into their apartment complex's jungle gym for kids. He could see about four to six of them involved in a serious snowball fight, laughing and screaming all the while.

Mikey decided to drag his orange beat up bean bag chair over to the window to watch for a bit after turning the TV off. Another half hour passed by when the children decided that they had enough fun for one day and ran into their own apartments. Mikey continued to sit there and watch the snow fall from the sky while leaning back into a more comfortable position. The living room window was low enough to the ground that the youngest could easily see over the window sill.

Right at that point Mikey heard the front door knob turn as Raph let himself in.

He turned around in his beanbag chair and greeted his brother with, "Hey bro. I made lunch, your favorite, meatball sub. It's in the fridge; you should put it in the toaster oven for a few seconds."

"Thanks Mikey. I'll be out in a sec, I got grease all ova' me from workin' on the cars with Case. Gonna go take a shower real quick."

Mikey only nodded his head in acknowledgement before returning his gaze back to the window.

"Where's Don?" Raph yelled from the hallway while looking for a towel from the cupboard.

"I dunno."

"Leo?"

"Out shopping," Mikey blandly responded again.

Raph, hearing the solemn tone of his youngest brother, paused in search for a clean towel before looking over towards Mikey's direction. He blindly grabbed whatever towel was closest to him and shut the cupboard doors before walking back into the living room.

He observed Mikey sitting there in his beanbag chair, unmoving. Which wasn't normal right off the bat. Mikey was _always_ moving. Jumping around, talking, and now come to think about it why wasn't Mikey out shopping for Christmas presents with Leo? _He loves that crap._

"What's goin' with ya?" Raph grunted out in frustration from the lack of normal Mikey behavior.

The youngest turned back towards his brother.

"Nothing, bro. I'm chillin," Mikey said while grinning a grin that didn't quite reach his eyes. "You should probably go take that shower as fast as you can; you're stinking up the place."

Raph squinted his eyes suspiciously at Mikey before he let the light hearted insult set in.

"Am not," the hothead brother said while turning to finally go to the bathroom and take his much needed shower.

 _He's probably fine, just over thinkin' it,_ Raph thought to himself while rubbing his face.

"Startin' ta' sound like Leo!" He complained out loud while turning on the faucet.

After Raph took his shower and was squeaky clean again, he put on a pair of grey sweats and a t-shirt before going back to the living room once more. Upon seeing Mikey again, still in his same position, he stopped in his tracks.

 _What is goin' on?!_ He asked himself while scrunching his facial features into worry and confusion.

Mikey didn't even acknowledge the noise he made in coming back out into the living room. Not even a budge. Raph decided at that point to walk over to his, what it seemed like lifeless brother, and stood diagonally in front of him, crossing his arms over his chest.

"What's gotten' into ya'? You sick or somethin'?"

Mikey didn't even turn his head. He kept his eyes forward and showed no expression. His baby blues almost even looked clouded over into a fog sort of color.

"No Raphie, m'not sick. I'm just…tired or something," the youngest mumbled out, unknowingly making his brother even more worried about him.

Raph continued to observe him for a minute before moving to a put a hand on Mikey's forehead. Screw his thoughts on thinking he's becoming too much like Leo. There was something wrong with Mikey and he needed to, in a way to calm himself, find out what it was. Unlike Leo's philosophy in letting Mikey come to them for support and talks, Raph was the opposite. The hotheaded brother found it hard to focus while one of his brothers was seriously upset. It drove him crazy.

"No, I guess yer' not," he concluded for himself as Mikey's forehead temperature didn't seem to be anything abnormal.

"Tired, huh? Maybe you should go lie down for a bit then kid."

"Maybe."

Raph, wanting to strangle all of the answers out of Mikey, had to take a deep breath and then opened his mouth to speak again but was stopped short when Mikey said, "I don't really feel like sleeping right now."

"Then what's wrong with ya'? You ain't acting normal bro."

Mikey finally seemed to gain some color back into his eyes again, after what it seemed like was him coming back to the present. He finally looked over towards Mother Hen Raph.

"I'm fine Raph," he sighed, "I'm just…I dunno. Don't feel like myself today." Mikey rubbed one of his eyes before looking glumly at the floor in front of him.

Raph took a minute for that to sink in. He thought for a split second to call Leo and Donnie and see if they knew what had their youngest brother in a funk but decided against it. Raph turned back around towards the living room area and searched it until he found what he was looking for. The second eldest walked over to his bean bag chair and dragged it over to place it right next to Mikey before plopping down in it.

He put his arm over Mikey's shoulders and pulled him in close while telling him, "C'mere."

Mikey slumped down a little more to lay his head onto the front of Raph's shoulder blade.

"It's okay ta' have off days Mikey. I bet tomorrow you'll be up and runnin' again," Raph said as gently as he could for his thick accent. Mikey turned to look upwards at him and was rewarded with a "Raph" smile. The youngest returned the smile with his own small one.

"Thanks, Raph," Mikey said, looking back out the window.

Maybe he was just having an off day as Raph had said. Everything about the day just felt weird and if he did sleep it all off he probably would feel better. That was the nice thing about Raph. He just knew what to say in a simple matter whenever Mikey was feeling down. He didn't pry like Donnie sometimes did nor did he act like Mikey was made of glass like Leo tended to do. He was just there for him without words needed.

"You know what I was just thinking about though?" Mikey asked his brother after a couple of quite minutes.

"What's that?"

"You, Leo, and Donnie remind me of snow."

Raph gave the top of Mikey's head a weird look, clearly amused by such a notion, before asking, "What? Snow? How?"

"No, not like snow in general. Like different types of snow," Mikey responded in a thoughtful but gentle tone.

"Oh yeah? What kinda snow is boy genius then?"

Mikey took another second to think before responding.

"Champagne powder," he said confidently.

"Champagne powder?"

"Yup!"

"Care to humor me?"

"Sure!" Mikey said more enthusiastically than anything he's said all day which brought another small fond smile to Raph's lips.

"Champagne powder is perfect for skiing and snowboarding right? It's just soft enough to fall into but can be hard as a rock when pushed around too much. That describes Donnie to his core! He's soft and gentle on the outside but firm and steady on the inside. When we fall we can always count on Don to catch us and get us back on our feet. That's what champagne powder does."

Raph let his brother's response sink in for a moment.

"Yeah," he chuckled, "Yer' right. Okay, then if Donnie is champagne powder, then what's Leo?"

"Crust," Mikey simply stated while mischievously looking back up at Raph who exploded in laughter. What would he do without his baby brother and his wildly creative imagination?

"Crust?!" The older brother exclaimed after catching his breath. He looked back at Mikey, pure amusement and wonder filling his eyes.

Mikey started chuckling a bit too. "It's not like that Raphie! Crust is also a type of ground snow, not just what's part of a pizza!"

Raph continued his laughing for a bit before forcing it to a stop so his brother could go on to his explanation.

"I know that, but go on and tell me how Leo is like crust then," he said, still smiling down at Mikey as the said brother turned to look ahead to focus on his thought process of Leo.

"Well, there are a few types of crusty snow. There's supportable, breakable, and zipper. Supportable obviously means that it can support a person's weight where breakable can't. Zipper is the kind of crust a skier or snowboarder can cut through but is still strong enough for someone to ride through at the same time. Now we all know Leo is supportable in every way possible no matter what stupid things we get into. If we believe in our ways, then Leo's there to back us up even if it is hesitantly at times. When he's breakable, it's like he lets all his emotions flood at once and drowns in them. Therefore he needs us to help for example, pack more snow for him so he becomes supportable again for himself and us. He'll always be the zipper crust though. He's always there for us when we need him to be and even though we're too much for him to handle at times he still stays strong to support us no matter how much we cut into him."

Raphael always saw his brother in a new light when Mikey talked about his brothers passionately like this.

"I see. So, what about me then?" Raph couldn't ignore the fact that he'd been legitimately excited to hear what his brother had to say about him.

"Well bro, I guess…you'd be more like ice."

"Ice?" Raph asked, uncertain for Mikey's analogy for him.

"Yeah, ice. Ice is always solid until too much pressure makes it crack. When it starts to crack and the pressure keeps building it breaks. Sound familiar?" Mikey asked to gauge his brother's reaction. When he saw Raph's confused look he continued on. "You're solid Raph. You're always there when we fall too. More in a rough way, unlike crust and champagne powder, but still always there. Your anger can lead you to break but it's not always a bad thing. You break when Leo gets on your case too much and you let off steam and melt when the pressure is relieved. When you melt, you melt into the big softie you are deep down. Just like the water that's formed from melting ice and water, like you, is and always will be needed and wanted. I'll always need you in my life Raph. You're one of my three favorite brothers!" Mikey ended with a huge beaming smile that finally reached his eyes.

Raph was taken aback. His brother understood them so well on so many different kinds of levels, like snow. He admired Mikey's way of thinking about life and about them all. So innocent, spirited, and compassionate.

When Raph regained his composure he asked, "What kinda snow are you Mikey?"

Mikey looked surprised. "Me?"

"Yeah, you."

"Well," Mikey drawled out, putting a finger to his chin to think, "I haven't really thought about it." The youngest shrugged it off like it was no big deal but Raph wasn't going to let him off that easy.

"You know what I think?" Raph asked, daring Mikey to answer a rhetorical question.

"What?" Mikey asked, looking into Raph's forest green eyes.

"You remind me of the snow that falls from the sky."

"Really?" Mikey asked, his eyes lighting up like a young child's on Christmas morning after seeing what presents Santa left under the tree.

"Yeah. Really. The light kind. Yer' soft too, like Einstein. The snow from the sky lights up the darkest days and nights and that's what you do. Fallin' snow helps create and form all otha' kinds of snow. Most importantly though, it, you, helps us stick together. Ya build us up when we're down and when you fall we're here to catch you. And tell me what person out there doesn't love fallin' snow? Everybody loves you Mikey and I'll let you know that fallin' snow is my favorite kind."

"What about Leo and Donnie's snow?"

"Well they're my favorite champagne powder and crust."

Mikey and Raph grinned at each other. After that, Mikey felt like his old self again and together they ate meatball sandwiches while watching the snow continue to fall from the sky.

 _End._

* * *

 **Hope you all got what I was kind of referring to with the snow references! Obviously the word chosen for this story was "Snow."More Leo and Mikey stories on the way as requested and yes! My mom got me a TMNT advent calendar last year (I'm 23 years old, she just knows me too well) and it was awesome! I went to the wrong stores this year who didn't have any :(. But I'm happy to hear that it reminded you of this story! Haha! Thank you all who continue to read these stories, I hope you are enjoying them and a special thanks to those who have reviewed, favorited, and followed this story so far! Have a great day!** **  
**

 **-A Damsel in Distress**


	5. Chapter 5

It was cool a Saturday night as the turtles ran their nightly patrol throughout the city. Gang activity had spiked recently and the turtles were on the hunt for some action. These little impersonator gangs were nothing compared to the Purple Dragons or the Foot. The whole night was more or less a sort of extra practice- and another way to burn the greasy pizza calories out of Mikey, not that he _really_ needed it but extra practice never hurt, according to Leo's rule book; volume three.

Speaking of the said turtle, the oldest had called it a night after they took care of the last of the misconduct down in the ally next to the building they were standing on the edge of. There were more gang members than the last few groups they've come across and decided to flank the ally way but stay within the shadows of the walls. Leo and Mikey were to flank the entrance of the ally way as Raph and Don would take the back, on the other side of the gang's trucks that they were loading illegal cargo onto.

A second after Leo gave his signal to commence their plan, a musical note went off towards Raph and Don's way which made all turtles seize in their attempt at flanking and so they dropped straight down to the ground instead. They stood there frozen as they spectated the scene in front of them, weapons at the ready as they tried to figure out what music was blaring from their quad while keeping their defense up. The gang members stood there in disbelief, also surprised from the sudden announcement. One of them even comically dropped a box he was holding. If anything, it was an awkward moment of silence between the two groups.

Then realization hit Raph like a slap to the face as he and his brothers quickly glanced down at his T-phone that was ringing at top volume.

" _You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch. You really are a heeee~eeel."_

The awkward pause continued on as all future participants of tonight's fight listened on.

" _You're as cuddly as a cactus, you're as charming as an eel, Mr. Griii~nnnnnch_."

Leo and Raph exchanged glances.

" _You're a bad banana with a… greasy black pee~eeel."_

At that moment Mikey relaxed his defensive stance to take the opportunity to put his hands on his stomach and forehead and laughed. And laughed. And laughed some more. His brothers looked at him quizzically before the youngest turtle caught sight of the now incoming attack and paused in his laughter before yelling, "Heads up!"

All four turtles at that time engaged with the gang members who finally recomposed themselves to charge.

" _You're a monster, Mr. Grinch, your heart's an empty hooo~llle._ "

Mikey couldn't help but laugh full heartedly again as he blocked a baseball hit to his head with a chuck before knocking the guy out cold.

"What bad timing! Who's callin' you Raph?" he asked his hotheaded brother while looking over.

Raph grunted as he high kicked another gang member in the face before turning to glare dangerously at Mikey.

" _Your brain is full of spiders, you've got garlic in your soul, Mr. Griii~nnnnnch_."

"MIKEY! What did you do?!"

Mikey, stepping out of the way of another attack and nonchalantly tripped the guy, kept his smile and eyes on Raph before faking looking offended. "Muah? I didn't do anything!"

"Yeah ya' did twerpball! Ya' changed my ringtone!" Raph exclaimed angrily as he took down two more on coming gang members by throwing one of their own back at them.

Mikey pretended to think for a moment as another gang member ran at him before he stepped quickly out of the way once more to let the guy knock himself out against the wall.

" _I wouldn't touch you with a…thirty-nine and a half foot pooo~llle_."

"Ohhhhh, thaaaat! Indeed I did," the youngest chuckled out again as he listened to that last verse play out.

"Mikey that gave away out position!" Leo scolded, blocking and fighting off three other men.

"What? It's not like we can't handle them Leo. It's not my fault Raph just happened to get a phone call in the middle of a fight."

"It's your fault that the ringer was set on speaker though," Don chimed in, puncturing one guy's lung with his bo staff.

"Don't act like it's not hilarious bro. I heard you laughing!"

Don couldn't counter argue with that because it was the truth. Although that kind of thing could have gotten them into trouble in a more serious situation, it didn't and therefore was funny. In fact the four turtles were wrapping up the fight as the next verse of the song continued to play.

" _You're a vile one, Mr. Grinch. You have termites in your smiii~llle."_

"Raph, just turn it off!" Leo suggested.

"Gee what a great idea! Why didn't I think of that?! I will when I'm not busy, Fearless!" Raph growled out in between a few punches to a couple different faces as Leo rolled his eyes.

A rumbling noise was made as the turtles looked over to see a garage that the gang members had been hanging around suddenly opened up to let out another twenty or so guys. The ringtone continued to play on as Raph had his hands full.

" _You have all the tender sweetness of a seasick crocodile, Mr. Griii~nnnnnch."_

"Mikey I'm gonna kill ya' when this is over!" he exclaimed while kicking a gang member in the chest and sent him flying backwards.

"You'll have to catch me first!"

Raph let out another growl. He knew he wouldn't be able to catch his baby brother before they got back to the lair; Mikey was just too damn fast and extra energetic tonight.

" _Given the choice between the two of you,_ "

"I'm surprised whoever's calling you hasn't hung up yet!" Don yelled out across the swarm of men in front of him. He easily knocked them all out with the end of his bo, making them fall onto their backs as they smashed their heads on the hard concrete.

"Probably Case. He neva' gives up callin' I swear!" Raph yelled back.

"You shouldn't swear Raph, it's against Leo's rule book two!"

Leo, upon hearing his name, knocked the guy out that was in front of him and turned around to face his baby brother.

" _I'd take the seasick crocodilll~eee_."

"You guys made a book of my rules?" Leo asked disbelievingly over the next verse of the song.

"Yeah bro! How else do you expect us to please you all the time?!" Mikey joked back, ducking under a punch and then swiftly kicking the guy in the face, breaking his nose. Leo had to smile at that. Given the circumstance that they were in a fight with gang members and all, he was having a pretty good time with his brothers. The song playing in the background certainly lifted the mood for the night and so for just this once, he'd let his baby brother off the hook for his prank.

" _You're a foul one, Mr. Grinch. You're a nasty wasty skunk_."

Raph could be heard once again growling in the background.

" _Your heart is full of unwashed socks, your soul is full of gunk, Mr. Griii~nnnnnch."_

"MIKEY!"

"Don't blame me; this is all Casey's fault now!" Mikey laughed as he watched Raph knock out and tie up the last gang member in the group. He took this opportunity to climb the nearest stairs back onto one of the rooftops. He paused a moment before he looked down to make sure Raph was paying attention to him.

Then word for word he sang along with the song.

"The three best words that best describe you, are as follows, and I quote," he dramatically paused before lifting a finger to Raph. "Stink!"

He pointed down to Leo and said, "Stank!"

Lastly he pointed to Donnie with the last word, "Stunk!" before taking off like a wild hyena into the night with his brothers trailing after him to kick his ass.

 _Worth it,_ Mikey thought with the biggest smile.

 _End._

* * *

My word for this story was, "Mr. Grinch." I know I am currently behind; I am uploading two more stories tonight and the rest tomorrow. I hope you enjoyed this story in the meantime! Just the four turtle brothers having some fun in the middle of a fight! Yes they do making TMNT advent calendars haha but I haven't found any this year either. The next two stories are Leo and Mikey centric so look forward to that! Poor Donnie's not getting any love-oops. Thank you all for you reviews, follows, and favorites!

 **Disclaimers: I do not own any shape, way, or form of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or The Grinch or the song.**


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